Unos Efectos Secundarios
by Reid Phantom
Summary: When Rosa and Miguel tag along with Abel and his friends to sneak into an old abandoned mental hospital, Miguel makes some new, unexpected friends.


**Just a note, I know very little Spanish and have no real experience with the Mexican dialect, so while I tried to triple check everything I used in this, I'm happy to hear any (polite) corrections you might have. Thanks!**

* * *

"Miguel, go home!" Rosa whispered harshly as the two snuck down the street.

"No. If you get to go, so do I," Miguel whispered back crossing his arms.

"I'm old enough to go, you aren't."

"You're only a year older than me!"

"I'm fourteen, you're twelve."

"I turn thirteen in two months!"

"In two months. You're just a kid. Go -"

"Rosa, Miguel, what are you two doing here?"

The two cousins froze before turning to see Abel standing over them.

"Hehe, hey primo," Miguel said, rubbing his arm.

"Abel, come on!" one of Abel's friends called from around the corner.

"Coming," he called back before turning to his sister and cousin. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm coming with you," Rosa said.

" _We're_ coming with you," Miguel corrected.

"What? No, go home!" the older boy huffed, waving them away.

"Mamá said I could go with you," Rosa argued.

"And Abuelita said I had to stay with you two if I went out," Miguel added. "So unless you want to walk me all the way back…"

"Rosa will walk you back," Abel shot back, crossing his arms. "You guys can't come. The place we're going isn't for kids."

"I'm not a kid!" both shouted at the same time.

"Abel, what's going on?" the friend called again as she and two other young adults came around the corner. Her eyes widened as she spotted Rosa and Miguel. "Aw, Abel, are those your hermanitos?"

Abel shot his sister and cousin a glare before turning to his friends. "Sorry about them, they followed me. I was just sending them home."

Both opened their mouths to argue, but one of the others pointed at Miguel. "Oye, you're the Rivera boy, aren't you? The one who stole de la Cruz's guitar?"

Miguel scowled, his fists clenching as he turned his chin up at the older boy. "It wasn't de la Cruz's."

"Sí, sí." He nodded before elbowing his friend. "Tipo, this is that kid that broke into the mausoleum on Día de Muertos. We gotta bring him."

His friend looked impressed, though the older girl looked confused and Abel groaned.

Meanwhile, Rosa looked appalled. "If Miguel gets to go, so do I!"

The friend shrugged. "Sure."

The older girl frowned and set her hands on her hips. "Teo, Renzo, we are not bringing a couple of kids," she tisked and Abel nodded.

Before the younger two could respond, the first guy, Teo, threw his arm over her shoulders and pouted at her. "Come on, Sabela! They'll be fine."

"We'll keep an eye on them," the other, Renzo, agreed. "If the kid can spend a night in a mausoleum on Día de Muertos, he'll be fine in the hospital."

"The hospital? You mean el manicomio?" Miguel asked with a frown. "I thought Abuelita said no one's allowed there because it's dangerous."

"It is. Too dangerous for you kids," Sabela agreed.

"Yeah, the ghost might get you," Renzo snickered.

"It's not haunted," Sabela said, shooting him a look. "Just condemned."

"Is too. Mi hermano told me all about it. And we looked it up, didn't we, Renzo?" Teo said, nudging his friend, who nodded. "There was girl who died there back in the thirties. And now everyone says she haunts the place. She's always screaming and throwing things. Dalia said her boyfriend nearly fell down the stairs when a chair came rolling at them and Isaac said he saw her watching them through the window of her room."

"Don't forget that guy who died right before they closed the place down. Maya swore he tried to feel her… er, tried to grab her," Renzo added, glancing at the kids.

Miguel frowned. He had had enough of dead people trying to kill him during Día de Muertos. "Has anyone been hurt by the ghost?"

Sabela rolled her eyes. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"Then why are you coming, Sabela?"

"To make sure you güeyes don't get yourselves killed running around in a condemned building."

Rosa's eyes widened and she smirked at Abel. "You better bring us, or I'm telling Mamá where you're going," she whispered.

He shot her a glare, then groaned. "Alright, you two can come."

Rosa, Teo, and Renzo cheered and the older boys each threw an arm around Rosa and Miguel to lead them around the corner to a waiting van.

* * *

"Woah," Miguel said, glancing around as they snuck into the abandoned asylum.

"This place is a pigsty," Sabela snorted, kicking away a loose board.

"Hey, Teo, take a picture of me in this chair!" Abel joked, dropping into an old wheelchair.

Teo pulled out his phone as Renzo slid behind the chair to grab the handles.

Rosa raised an eyebrow at a piece of graffiti. "And they say _we're_ too young to be here," she snorted.

Sabela's nose scrunched up as she realized where Rosa was staring. "That is exactly why you are too young."

Miguel glanced into a room and frowned when he saw a flicker of orange. "Hello?" he called, stepping into the room.

"Miguel?" Abel said, grabbing his shoulder. "Stay close."

"Sorry, I thought I saw a light in here."

"Think it was the ghost?" Teo joked.

"It was probably just the light from our flashlights bouncing off the debris," Sabela scoffed. "Stop trying to scare the kids."

"I'm not scared," Miguel denied.

"Hey Abel, can I borrow your phone to take a selfi with this gurney?" Renzo asked. "Mines dead. Stupid thing! I charged it on the way here!"

A scream and a crash sounded from down the hall.

The group froze.

"What was that?" Rosa asked.

"The ghost?" Teo joked again, though he was more nervous now.

"Someone else must be here," Sabela said, turning her flashlight down the hall and squinting. "They're probably trying to scare us."

"It'll take more than that to scare us!" Renzo yelled down the hall before starting down it. "Come on, guys!"

Abel grabbed Rosa and Miguel as they started to follow. "You two stay here."

"What?" Miguel said as Rosa snapped, "No!"

"Stay." He turned and joined his friends.

The two shared a look, counted one, two, then followed.

The room they ended up in looked like it used to be a library. A few bookshelves remained, two of which still standing, and tons of books were scattered about everywhere: on the ground, on the bookshelves, and draped over the hanging lights.

"Think this was what it was?" Teo asked, kicking a stack of books that looked recently toppled.

Something orange moved in the corner of Miguel's eye and he turned to look down the hall. "Did you see -"

Miguel caught off as the older teens all let out screams or yelps as their flashlights all turned off at once. He turned to see them slapping the devices in the light of Rosa's.

Teo said something that would have Abuelita breaking out the soap and Sabela smacked the back of his head. "The kids," she hissed.

"I thought I told you two to stay behind," Abel sighed.

"Just be glad you guys aren't standing around in the dark," Rosa shot back.

"What happened to your flashlights?" Miguel asked, coming into the room.

"No lo sé. They just died on us," Renzo said, knocking his against a heavy bookshelf.

Miguel heard someone laugh, then slowly the bookshelf started to tip over.

¡Oye!" the older boy yelled, grabbing it. It kept going though and he shot a look towards his friends. "Help!"

Teo and Abel shot forwards and helped him push the bookshelf back upright, grunting under the effort.

"How'd you manage to knock this over?" Teo groaned as the finally got it upright. "It weighs a ton."

"I barely touched it!"

Miguel heard another laugh and turned just in time to see someone lit in orange dart behind the other bookshelf.

"Who was -"

The bookshelf tipped over and, unimpeded like it's brother, slammed loudly against the ground.

No one was behind it.

Teo cursed again, but Sabela didn't reprimand him. She was too busy giving Renzo's arm a death grip and staring wide eyed at the bookshelf.

There was a moment of silence, then Rosa's flashlight died.

In the small bit of moonlight coming from the boarded up windows, Miguel watched the teens go screaming from the room, Rosa taking the lead.

Then he stomped over to the source of the laughter that was slowly taking the place of screams. He stepped into a side room to see a girl leaning back against a desk. Her back was to him, but he could see see was wearing a white dress and had long, wild brown hair in the light of the orange flashlight she was holding in front of herself.

"That wasn't funny! You really scared mis primos and the others!" he snapped, one hand on his hip as he did his best to channel Mamá Imelda.

The girl turned and he suddenly realized the orange light wasn't coming from a flashlight.

The skeleton girl frowned. "What's a little kid doing here?"

"I'm twelve!" Miguel shouted. "Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

The last part came out as more of a whine, but he didn't think she noticed with the way she was gaping at him.

"Wait, you can hear me? Can you _see_ me?"

"Yeah," Miguel said, then it hit him.

He glanced down at his hands, calming slightly when he saw he wasn't glowing like her. What was going on? Was he cursed again? How? Was he going to turn into a skeleton?

A skeleton hand came into view. He glanced up, just as the outstretched finger passed right through his nose.

"Well, you are definitely alive," the girl hummed, withdrawing her hand from inside his head.

"Do I _look_ dead?"

She shot him a glare and slapped a hand through his shoulder. "Well, how else would you be able to see me?"

He shrugged. "Haven't people seen you before?"

The girl rolled her eyes and sat on the desk. "Yeah, but it takes a lot of energy to be seen for even a few seconds and I have to do it on purpose. Living people can't see ghosts on their own. So how can you?"

"I… don't know."

"Huh." She looked him over, then glanced over his shoulder. "So you were with that group?"

Miguel blinked and glanced back at the library. "Oh, yeah. Mi prima and I made her hermano bring us with his friends. And you really scared them back there, you know."

"Of course, chavo. That's the job."

"Job?"

"Sí. Well, maybe job isn't the right word exactly, but it's why I'm here. See, I like playing pranks on people, watching them freak out. So after I died, I figured I'd stick around. Nothing waiting for me in the Land of the Dead, no familia. Here though, a few tossed books, a few screams, and plenty of people remember me and pass down my stories. And being remembered is a big thing when your dead."

"Yeah, I know."

"So you get it?"

"I guess, seems kind of mean, though."

"Mean? Hah! The only reason people like your amigos come here is because they _want_ to be scared, to see the ghosts. We're just giving them what they want. I mean, they get hurt sometimes, but not because of us. It's because the building's not safe, and they know it so that's not on us."

"Us?"

"Oh, yeah! You've gotta meet Roi. He'll get a kick out of this," the girl said, slipping off the desk and gesturing for Miguel to follow her. "By the way, I'm Zaira."

"Miguel." He paused at a set of stairs that looked a bit rickety. "Are these safe?"

"Huh, oh yeah, probably. Just don't step on the third step and you'll be fine. It's the backstairs you gotta watch out for."

Miguel bit his lip, but slowly made his way up the stairs. Thankfully, despite their appearance, they all felt solid under his feet.

He skipped the third step as advised though.

Zaira led him to a hall of bedrooms before passing right through a door, shouting, "Roi, you won't believe what I just found!"

"Hey, hermanita, did you scare off those kids?" an older, male voice asked through a yawn and Miguel pushed the door open slightly to see a skeleton man lying across an old bed frame.

"Wake up, anciano! I want to show you something! Miguel, get in here!"

Miguel pushed the door open the rest of the way. "Hermanita? You guys are siblings?"

"Nah, we've just been here together so long we're like familia and he seems to think I'm the little sister despite being nearly two decades younger than me."

The man shot upright. "Qué mie- Zaira, this kid can see us?"

"I know right! He was with the others. You should have seen him trying to tell me off for scaring him," she snickered. "Muy lindo."

Miguel flushed. "Hey!"

She reached out to pat his head, but her hand passed through him again. She frowned, then shrugged it off. "See, alive. Weird right?"

"Very." The man held up his hand. "Nice to meat you, niño. Name's Roi."

"Miguel," he said, swiping his hand through Roi's in an odd approximation of a high five.

"Nice to meet you. And I mean it. Not often we get any new faces around here that we can actually meet. Mostly they just go running for the hills," the man chuckled. "Not you though. You seem pretty calm for a ten-year-old that's face to face with skeletons."

"He's twelve," Zaira corrected with a smirk.

"Oh, of course! My bad, niño," Roi snickered.

Miguel pouted and crossed his arms.

"Aw, we're just playing," Zaira giggled, hopping up to sit on the window ledge.

"Seriously, though, most don't act so relaxed when they see us," Roi said, patting the spot on the frame next to him.

Miguel gave it a nervous look, but sat down on the edge. "Well, this isn't the first time I've met a dead person."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a long story though."

"We've got nothing but time, chavo," Zaira pointed out.

"Oh right," Miguel chuckled. "So last Día de Muertos…"

"Miguel!"

The three turned at the sound of Rosa's voice.

"I thought you scared everyone off," Roi said.

"That was mi prima. They must be looking for me." Miguel stood up and looked out into the hall, but didn't see anyone.

"Does this mean no story," Zaira moaned, slumping back so half of her was passing through the broken window.

"We should get him back to his familia," Roi said, standing up. "Come on, niño, before they do something stupid."

"Ugh, yeah, like call la policía." Zaira stuck her tongue out and jumped down to join them heading down the hall. "Last time that happened, it took forever for people to start coming again. Too worried about being caught."

"Miguel!"

"Up here," he yelled as they reached the stairs. He was halfway down the stairs when a light nearly blinded him.

"Miguel! There you are!" The light lowered slightly and he was able to see Teo and Rosa standing at the bottom, Teo using the flashlight on his phone.

"We found him!" Teo shouted down the hall as Rosa started up the stairs.

"Watch the third step," Miguel warned, but it was too late.

The step cracked under the girl's foot and she toppled backwards. Thankfully Teo caught her before she could hurt herself.

"Sorry, I tried to tell you," Miguel said, rushing down the rest of the way. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Where have you been? You disappeared on us!" Rosa snapped, giving a glare worthy of Abuelita.

"Technically you guys were the ones that left me when you went running out after Zaira pranked you."

"Who's Zaira?"

"Oh, she's the one that pushed the bookcase over. I saw her doing it so after you guys went running off I confronted her. She's really nice, she just likes pranks."

"Oh yeah, and where is she?"

Miguel glanced over his shoulder to see Zaira and Roi standing up at the top of the stairs, smirking. "Upstairs with her hermano, Roi. They wanted to know about last Día de Muertos."

Suddenly Teo's hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up to see the older boy growing paler by the second.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine. Come on, let's get out of this place."

"Uh, sure. Adiós, Zaira, Roi.

"Cuídese, chavo!"

"Adiós!"

Teo, still pale, steered the two away from the stairs and into the main room where Abel, Renzo, and Sabela were waiting.

"There you are!" Abel shouted, running forwards. "Do you know what Abuelita and Tía Luisa would have done to me if we couldn't find you? Where were you?"

"Making friends with pranksters," Rosa muttered, still glaring at her cousin.

"Let's just get out of this place," Teo muttered, continuing to push Miguel out of the building.

No one argued.

* * *

"Hey, Renzo."

Miguel fought back a yawn and peaked an eye open. He and Rosa were in the very back of the van. Rosa was already asleep, snoring against the window, and Miguel had been halfway there when he'd heard Teo's hushed call to the driver.

"What were the names of those two people who died again?"

"Uh… I think it was something like Roi Acosta and Z-something Ibarra… Zara, maybe? No, um…"

"Zaira?"

"Yeah, that's it. Why?"

Teo cursed then said, "Guys, this is going to sound insane, but… Like really, really crazy, and I know you're going to say something Sabela, but -"

"Just spit it out, Teo," Sabela yawned.

"Well, when we found Abel's primo, he was saying he met these two people, right? One of which was the one that dropped the bookshelf on us."

"Rosa said something about pranksters. You mean them?" Abel asked.

"Yeah, but get this, the kid said their names were Zaira and Roi."

There was a moment of silence.

"No manches," Renzo said.

"I'm serious!"

"We never told the kid the names, right?"

"No! That's why it freaked me out!"

Renzo sucked in a breath. "And we left him in there. Do you think he's possessed now?"

"Come off it you two. There's no such thing as ghosts," Sabela groaned.

"Then how'd he know the names?"

"Maybe whoever he saw in there knew the stories and gave him fake names."

"Thank you, Abel. At least someone's reasonable."

"How do you explain the flashlights though?" Teo shot back.

"And my phone dying?" Renzo added.

"Coincidences. Now cállate, I'm trying to sleep."

"Just saying, Abel. You might want to keep an eye on your primo. Make sure he's not possessed."

"¡Cállate!"

Miguel smirked and quietly sat up. He leaned over so he was right behind Teo, then grabbed both his shoulders, hissing in his ear, "Boo!"

The older boy yelped and jumped high enough to hit his head on the top of the car.

Rosa shot awake, looking around blearily. Meanwhile Renzo and Abel burst into laughter in the front seat and Sabela covered her mouth to muffle her giggles, leaning against the now pouting teen.

"I'll get you for that, mocoso," Teo growled, giving Miguel a playful glare.

Rosa groaned and went back to sleep.


End file.
